Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dechlorination compositions, compressed solids prepared from such compositions, and methods of forming compressed solids.
Description of Related Art
Chlorine, in a formal +1 oxidation state (e.g. hypochlorous acid or hypochlorite anion) and simply called chlorine herein, is the most commonly used disinfectant in water and wastewater treatment processes. While chlorination is an effective, versatile, and cost-effective means of limiting the spread of waterborne illness, moderate chlorine concentrations can also kill various aquatic life-forms. Because of this adverse effect, governmental agencies have established regulations that limit the amount of chlorine that can be present in treated water discharged into the environment, such as into lakes or rivers.
To comply with governmental regulations, a dechlorination step is implemented to neutralize the residual chlorine. One method of dechlorinating treated water includes adding a dechlorination composition that neutralizes the residual chlorine. For small and moderate scale operations, dechlorination compositions are commonly formed into tablets or pellets so that the dechlorination compositions slowly dissolve and interact with the residual chlorine dispersed throughout the treated water. Currently available dechlorination compositions generally require considerable processing (such as heating), which can have an adverse impact on manufacturing throughput and costs. For instance, some procedures blend sodium sulfite powder with calcium caseinate and water. The mixture is then either pressed into tablets and subsequently air-dried; or the moist mixture is granulated, dried, regranulated, and finally formed into tablets. Other current processes blend various ingredients with a liquid binder, press the mixture to form a tablet, and dry the formed tablet at elevated temperatures for over an hour. Other dechlorination compositions exist, but they involve similarly costly processing steps, such as baking. As such, there is a need for a new dechlorination composition that can be formed into solid objects, such as tablets, without the need for cumbersome processing steps.